CLASSIFIED

YAOGAN-25 01C

Chinese ELINT Naval Ocean Surveillance (JB-8 Triplet) · CASC / PLA

Third member of the Yaogan-25 ELINT triplet, launched alongside Yaogan-25A and 25B on a single Long March 4C rocket in 2014. Flying in formation at 680 miles, the Yaogan-25 triplet detects naval vessel radio and radar emissions and uses time-difference-of-arrival between the three satellites to compute the emitter's precise location — a technique that requires three spatially separated receivers and is impossible with a single satellite. The system mirrors the US Navy's own NOSS (Naval Ocean Surveillance System) that China studied carefully before designing this capability. A decade of Yaogan-25 operation has given China's strategic targeting planners continuous awareness of naval movements in the Pacific — the intelligence foundation for anti-access/area-denial strategy.